Spotify
Audiobooks
SeniorBackendEngineer-Audiobooks
Neural analysis suggests this role is
optimal for Senior candidates.
“Senior Backend Engineer - Audiobooks at Spotify. Skills: backend development, distributed architectures, Java, gRPC, GCP, data experience, system design, scalability, reliability. Design and build systems that power audiobook ingestion, transformation, and delivery. Contribute across the stack, from backend services and APIs to lightweight interfaces or operational tools”
What You'll Achieve.
ensuring the right content reaches listeners efficiently and with the highest quality; ensuring performance, accuracy, and scalability across millions of titles; drive continuous improvement in reliability and performance
Industry & Context.
solve challenging problems across the stack; translate sophisticated workflows into elegant, maintainable, and reliable systems
What They're Looking For.
Must Have
5+ years of software engineering experience, highly proficient in Spotify's backend tech stack (Java/gRPC/GCP), some data experience, willingness to work across the stack when needed, care about clean, maintainable, and testable code, take ownership of quality and operational excellence, thrive in ambiguous, fast paced environments, enjoy context-switching, value quick, pragmatic decision-making, demonstrate data proficiency, curiosity about the business domain, desire to understand the broader audiobook ecosystem, collaborative, humble, growth-minded
Nice to Have
ideally across backend systems and distributed architectures, experience with data pipelines, experience with internal tooling, experience with deployment infrastructure
What You'll Do.
Design and build systems that power audiobook ingestion
Contribute across the stack
from backend services and APIs to lightweight interfaces or operational tools
Take operational responsibility for the services you build
Drive continuous improvement in reliability and performance
Step into areas beyond your comfort zone (e.g.
or deployment infrastructure)
Author and review RFCs
Shape technical decisions that affect the broader Audiobooks ecosystem
Operate with 'short toes'
Take ownership beyond team boundaries
Mentor and collaborate with peers
Contribute to an inclusive
psychologically safe engineering culture
How You'll Work.
Team & Collaboration
Collaborate with engineers, PMs, and designers; Mentor and collaborate with peers; Share knowledge
Communication Scope
Author and review RFCs; sharing your insights
Full Job Description
## Description Spotify’s Audiobooks Mission is transforming how creators and listeners experience long-form storytelling. We’re building the foundation that enables audiobook content to flow seamlessly from publishers to listeners — including the systems that power ingestion, processing, and delivery across a rapidly growing global catalog. We’re looking for a Senior Backend Engineer to join a small, high-impact team within the Audiobooks Pipeline area. This team is responsible for building and scaling systems that ingest, process, and transform audiobook and eBook content, metadata, and royalties — ensuring the right content reaches listeners efficiently and with the highest quality. While this role is full stack in scope, the majority of work will lean toward backend and data-focused development. We’re looking for someone who thrives in ambiguity, loves to learn, and is eager to stretch beyond their comfort zone to solve challenging problems across the stack. ## What You’ll Do Design and build systems that power audiobook ingestion, transformation, and delivery — ensuring performance, accuracy, and scalability across millions of titles. Contribute across the stack, from backend services and APIs to lightweight interfaces or operational tools, depending on the team’s evolving needs. Collaborate with engineers, PMs, and designers to translate sophisticated workflows into elegant, maintainable, and reliable systems. Be responsible for your impact — take operational responsibility for the services you build and drive continuous improvement in reliability and performance. Adapt and T-shape: Step into areas beyond your comfort zone (e.g., data pipelines, internal tooling, or deployment infrastructure) as the mission evolves. Author and review RFCs, sharing your insights and shaping technical decisions that affect the broader Audiobooks ecosystem. Embrace the Audiobooks Mission expectations: operate with “short toes,” take ownership beyond team boundaries, and value
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